“This is the first time in my life where I’ve had options, and I get to pick and that’s a good thing. It’s crazy to think of how my confidence has skyrocketed… Fresh Start helped me build my resume, build myself and my confidence. It’s a really big change in my life.”
As a young mom, Yareli* reveled in the joys of motherhood with her two babies aged three years old and eight months. But sometimes the demands of being a parent outshined all aspects of her life, and she felt her own identity shadowed by her title of ‘mom.’
“I had my baby, actually two, so life became hard, especially being young. I felt like I had a lot of challenges, and I got to a point where the challenges were too hard, and I knew I had to do better for myself. I do struggle a lot with my mental health so that was a big barrier for me.”
For two years, Yareli stayed home with her children while sending job applications that went unanswered. The constant rejection hurt her self-confidence. Those around her noticed, including her mother-in-law who suggested she reach out to Fresh Start for help.
“My mother-in-law mentioned Fresh Start a few times, but I was stuck in a dark hole so when she would tell me I would say, ‘Oh I don’t really want to go to school.’ It sounded like school, and I wasn’t ready for that.”
One day the switch flipped in Yareli’s mind, and she felt ready to do something for herself. She decided to apply for the Women in Finance program at Fresh Start and thought, ‘It’s only six weeks, like how hard can it be? I’ve gone through so much life, like how hard can six weeks be?’
Yareli juggled a lot in her daily life, but she knew that for the program’s six-week duration, it was bearable to add more to her plate. The upside provided at course completion was worth it!
After applying to the program, she nervously awaited word on her acceptance status. Yareli was focused on her goal of attaining a career that provided stability and consistency but that stayed away from the mundane and routine. With previous banking experience, she knew that a role in the financial industry was ideal for her.
When she finally got the email that she was accepted into the program, she was so excited.
“My whole attitude changed and when they told me I was accepted and going to start the program, I was so happy. I was like, ‘This is going to be a challenge but I’m making a change in my life and the change is good for me. I like change.”
On her first day, Yareli walked through Fresh Start’s doors with zero expectations. She recalled being nervous to go up to class, but she was warmly welcomed by women of all different ages, races, and backgrounds.
“These women are a sisterhood. They come up to you and we understand each other.”
As she immersed herself in the experience with her peers, Yareli went through dramatic changes at home.
“Time management was big for me because I did recently just start working when I started the program. It was like two big changes for me… It was a change in my sleeping schedule because I work night shifts from 3:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and right after I come to class.”
Each morning, Yareli would get her kids up and drop them off at her mom’s before her night shift. Then after class, she’d pick them up again and hope the kids still needed their naps, so that she could nap a little too.
“My mom is a really great help. Motherhood is a sisterhood too.”
As the class continued, the doubts surrounding her capabilities dissipated because she was moving forward within a safe environment.
“Coming here and sharing my story to these women, they would say: ‘You’re this young and you work, and you go to school, and you have kids? What?!’ That made me feel like somebody… They showed me that I’m doing it, I’m not just trying.”
Yareli’s mental health sometimes worked against her own aspirations and plans, and one of her biggest goals for the six-week program was to undergo a mindset shift.
“I accomplished that. I wanted to make a change within myself, because as a mom you always feel like you’re last all the time. I’m going to do this for myself.”
Yareli also learned institutional knowledge for a successful career in the financial field and was subsequently empowered in other areas of her life.
“It’s made me more stable in a lot of facets like financially, mentally, and I was to a point where I was not feeling mentally good that I started feeling not physically good. Lately, I’ve been feeling good in both.”
As the Women in Finance program reached its end, Yareli began interviewing with Fresh Start partners for a role in finance. After undergoing two years of unanswered applications, Yareli finally had her choice of potential employers.
“This is the first time in my life where I’ve had options, and I get to pick and that’s a good thing. It’s crazy to think of how my confidence has skyrocketed… I was literally applying within that two-year span and nothing. But Fresh Start helped me build my resume, built myself and my confidence. It’s a really big change in my life.”
Yareli was hired by BMO as a Bank Associate in Fall 2024 after completing the program.
“I’m going to leave Fresh Start with this confidence…I know that I’m going to go a long way. I learned a lot of skills here to teach me that it doesn’t matter where I am, I’m going to find a way. I’m very confident. I’m going to take my confidence and my worth with me.”
She hopes that other women looking to find themselves again discover an outlet that allows them to push doubt away.
“Don’t ever let the darkness or the doubt or whatever your negative thoughts overpower what you know you can do. Nothing is impossible. I think a lot of people have heard that and they say it for a reason because you must believe in yourself, and you have to self-advocate and have that empowerment and just keep going.”